Every Minute Counts on AIDS Clocks

Fonds Solidarité Sida Afrique (AIDS Africa Solidarity Fund) in France is running an innovative outdoor campaign in Paris, “Clocks”, an installation designed to convey a sense of urgency. The installation is composed of 321 clock mechanisms, that is 963 clock hands (all telling different times). These 321 mechanisms are electrically inter-connected and powered by a stabilised generator. At a set time, twice a day, the hands of these mechanisms come together and align to form a phrase and in the process deliver the following message: “Every 12 hours in Africa, over 2,000 people die from AIDS because they have no access to care. Every minute counts. www.solidarite-sida.org”

The Clocks campaign was launched on April 30, 2009, in a special preview at the Pathé Quai d’Ivry. This unique piece will then be exhibited at the “Solidays” festival, to be held on 26, 27 and 28 June at the Longchamp Hippodrome. The work will consequently be presented at every event organised to collect funds for the fight against AIDS.

With flawed health systems and a lock-down on international trade, access to treatment and healthcare for AIDS sufferers in developing countries is still extremely limited. In Africa, 1.6 million children and adults die from AIDS each year, some 4,380 people every day. Faced with this health disaster, in February 2006 Solidarité Sida (AIDS Solidarity) created a dedicated fund, the Fonds Solidarité Sida Afrique (AIDS Africa Solidarity Fund). Since then, the association has been working non-stop in order to support field initiatives that provide access to more satisfactory treatment and care for the most deprived populations.

Stéphane Xiberras, President and Executive Creative Director of the ad agency BETC states, “The “Clocks” project has created a new way of writing an outdoor message. This is unprecedented typographic work based on an original idea from the artist Nadine Grenier. The installation casts new light on the horrendous subject of AIDS in Africa in a compelling way, from the perspective of time that goes by and kills us.”

The message is not to let 12 hours go by without doing anything about it. AIDS is still the prime cause of mortality in Africa, where 22.5 million people are HIV positive (only 28% have access to anti-retroviral treatment), and where 18 million children could end up as orphans by the year 2010. By visiting the association’s website and sparing five minutes of our time to make a donation, we can make things change.

Stay Inspired

What is The Inspiration Room?

A global effort designed to influence, affect and involve creative communities in the development of a world standard for inspiration, particularly in the fields of advertising, design and film. More »